Thursday, March 11, 2010

Medical Records, next tech goldmine

There are an estimated 300 to 400 companies in the United States peddling electronic medical records (EMR) systems to the nation's hospitals, medical clinics and solo practitioners. While some, such as GE Healthcare and NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, are part of corporate behemoths, the vast majority are small, privately held firms like eClinicalWorks.

While large firms such as Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Inc. and NextGen Healthcare remain huge presences, industry observers say that the electronic medical records field is as open to smaller challengers as it has ever been.

One big factor working in the small companies' favor: The majority of doctors' offices that have yet to adopt electronic records are small businesses themselves. While more than half of medical practices employing 50 or more doctors are using EMR systems, less than 10% of practices made up of three physicians or fewer can say the same, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008.